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Roseville

May 7, 2013

Roseville track coach looks to teach perseverance to his team

By Jason Carmel Davis
C & G Sports Writer

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Photo by Sean Work

The Roseville High track and field teams may not win the MAC Gold, but coach Ray Cabarris thinks his athletes can have postseason success. Pictured is Roseville senior Ray Williams performing the shotput during an April 23 meet against Warren Woods Tower.

Photo by Sean Work

The Roseville High track and field teams may not win the MAC Gold, but coach Ray Cabarris thinks his athletes can have postseason success. Pictured is Roseville senior Ray Williams performing the shotput during an April 23 meet against Warren Woods Tower.

First-year Roseville High boys and girls track and field coach Ray Cabarris said the athletes on both teams have the potential to stand out, but there’s an important area that needs work.

“What I try to bring, having coached track in the past, is instilling hard work and commitment,” said Cabarris, who also coached football at Roseville. “That commitment — making sure you come out and work on things — is the biggest thing. Once they get that down, they’ll definitely get better.”

Cabarris said that commitment will be easy to see. He said his athletes’ repetitions will increase once they become more committed to becoming better at their respective events.

“It’s all a process,” said Cabarris, who coached football at Central Michigan University for 11 years before coming to Roseville in 2001. “There won’t be great end results if they don’t work at it. There are little steps you take to get better.”

The Panthers — both teams at press time sat at 0-3, 0-3 Macomb Area Conference Gold Division — are slated to compete in a 2013 Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 1 regional, set for May 17 or 18 at Grosse Pointe South.

Roseville will then compete in the Macomb Area Conference Gold Divisional meet May 21 at Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse against L’Anse Creuse, St. Clair Shores Lakeview, Warren Woods Tower, Clinton Township Clintondale and St. Clair High.

Cabarris said he has some athletes who he believes will perform well at those meets, including senior Ray Williams (shot put), senior Malik Thomas (mile), junior Steaffon Jones (400-meters), sophomore Cortney Graham (200 and 400) and sophomore Kye Dozier (200 and 400).

“I think (our coaches) have prepared us really well,” said Jones, the captain of the Panthers’ boys team. “I feel confidence because I’m here every day, and that’s what (Cabarris) preaches. As long as we stayed committed, we can win.”

Cabarris said his athletes can take a lesson from some of their competition if they want to improve. He said watching other successful programs and athletes is a great way to build your own success.

“You can look at how they run and how they approach their events, and then you want to try to emulate those things and ask yourself what they’re doing that’s so much different than what you’re doing,” Cabarris said.

“I’ve always believed, no matter where I’ve coached, is that you win in practice. That’s where you win.”

“The coaches are pushing us really hard,” Graham said. “They’re holding us accountable for everything and that makes us want to work hard and win for them and ourselves. When we work hard in practice, what we do in meets comes easy.”

For date and time information on the MHSAA D-1 regional, check www.mhsaa.com.